Last night, the Brooklyn Nets beat the New York Knicks (of course the Knicks lost) by a score of 120-112, which saw Brook Lopez shoot better from 3 than from inside the arc and saw Kristaps Pornizgis make a block I could only ever dream of making.
With both teams residing in the lower third of the standing for most of the season, the game was secondary to the party that was going on in the stands.
Three days before the game, the world celebrated the life of Brooklyn’s (and maybe the world’s) best rapper, The Notorious B.IG., who passed 20 years previous. (If you were looking for some underrated Biggie verses, by the way, look no further.)
In their first home game since the anniversary, the Nets dedicated the night to Biggie, bringing the Bad Boy family and Biggie’s mother, Voletta Wallace, along for the ride.
SB Nation writer Kristian Winfield described the scene:
“Old-school hip-hop beats reverberated throughout the arena. Biggie’s trademark Timberland boots and COOGI sweaters flooded the Barclays Center sidelines. The distinct aroma of Hennessy wafted about the crowd — V.S. or Privilege? My nose needs refining.
It was what you’d expect a ‘90s party to look and feel like.”
Diddy gave a speech at halftime, which he called for 10 seconds of “Brookyln noise” as opposed to silence. The Nets also retired a jersey in Biggie’s name with the number 72, chosen after the year he was born.
Legendary rapper Biggie Smalls gets his jersey retired in his hometown of Brooklyn. #BiggieNight
— NBA SKITS (@NBA_Skits) March 13, 2017
Sure, the Nets won their 12th game in 65 tries, which is a miracle all in its own, but the arena — and the borough — celebrated the miracle that was Christopher Wallace instead.
